Monday, 17 October 2011

DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters - Rounds 4 & 5

After losing with White in the previous round, I was naturally disappointed but there was no time to feel sorry for myself as I was due to play against the solid Uzbek GM Tahir Vakhidov with the Black pieces. I decided to be as solid as I can as a draw will allow me to stop the rot. The game indeed ended in a short draw but is interesting in its own way:

In round 5, I was White against Singapore's only homegrown GM Dr. Wong Meng Kong. Work and age are both catching up on him and Meng Kong was clearly insufficiently prepared for this tournament. Which is of course understandable given that a lot of things have been happening in his family recently.

I natually had to try to win to have any chance of making a norm and since Meng Kong plays just about anything, there is little point in preparing deeply. I went for the Scotch only because I have recommended it to my Universiade students but didn't handle it well and was put under pressure by the legendary master.